Nottingham attacks: Don't have hate in your heart, vigil told

Thousands of people at a vigil for those killed in the Nottingham attacks have been urged to hold no “hate in your hearts”.

Grace O’Malley-Kumar, Barnaby Webber, both 19, and Ian Coates, 65, were stabbed to death in Tuesday’s attacks.

Their families joined a vigil in the city’s Old Market Square, where a minute’s silence was held.

Ms O’Malley-Kumar’s mother Sinead urged the crowd to be “kind to one another”.

“Look after each other, don’t have hate in your hearts. Say prayers for my baby girl,” she said.

Her thoughts were echoed by Mr Webber’s mother Emma, who said: “Please hold no hate that relates to any colour, sex or religion.”

James Coates, whose father was an avid Nottingham Forest fan, roused the crowd with a shout of “Go you Reds!”.

Many of those attending the vigil had arrived wearing red in response to a request from him and brother Lee.

Addressing the crowd, James said: “I want to thank everybody that has given us a kind word.

“It feels like he touched a lot of hearts over the years – more than we thought he had, so it’s heartening to see the messages and see people come out and talk about how it helped them, some beautiful comments.

“We’re still dealing with what’s happened. We still haven’t taken it all in so we just want to say – my dad was an avid fisherman and he loved his family he also loved his Forest – go you Reds!”

Mrs Webber told the vigil her son had “really loved” Nottingham.

“Like Grace’s dad said yesterday, we couldn’t get him bloody home,” she said.

She referred to an anonymous letter left during Wednesday’s tributes at the university, and offered her support to everyone affected.

“We stand here and we feel your love and we are united in grief and shock and disbelief, and one day we will smile again, but it will take time,” she said.

She called for a roar of support from the crowd, who responded with emotion and enthusiasm.

The “monstrous individual” responsible for the deaths in the city on Tuesday “will not define us”, she continued.

“I know he will receive the retribution that he deserves,” she said.

“However, this evil person is just that. He is just a person.”

Ms O’Malley-Kumar’s mother Sinead said the magnitude of the grief for her daughter reflects the magnitude of the love everyone had for her.

“My beautiful baby girl, she wasn’t just beautiful on the outside, you must have seen her pictures, she was so beautiful on the inside. She was a treasure, an adored child,” she said.

“She wanted very few things in life, she wanted to be a doctor, she wanted to play hockey with her pals, she wanted to have fun.”

She added: “All they were doing was walking home, were just walking home after a night-out and, like Emma Webber says, this person must face justice. It just is truly so unfair.”

Paying tribute to the caretaker, Ross Middleton, head teacher of Huntingdon Academy where Mr Coates worked, said he was “full of fun with a mischievous glint in his eye” and put huge effort into students’ welfare.

“My abiding memory, then, will be the time he spent with his grandson and how he looked at his grandson with such love and pride he and he did a great job,” he said.

“We will all remember him with great affection. Rest in peace Ian, and, of course, I’ll keep an eye on Forest results for you.”

City council leader David Mellen told the families: “The attack on you is an attack on us all.”

The Reverend Grant Walton from the University of Nottingham, where Mr Webber and Ms O’Malley-Kumar studied, described the three deaths in the city’s attacks as a “traumatic, violent and needless loss”.

He was followed by Prof Shearer West, the university’s vice-chancellor who said they were still “trying to process the information” that the suspect was a former student.

“All three of these lives were cut short in the most unimaginable way on Tuesday morning.

“Their well-earned retirement plans and bright futures brutally curtailed by a seemingly random act of violence.

“At the university, we held our own vigil yesterday with Barney and Grace’s families to remember them and mourn their loss.

“I was overwhelmed by the love and support that was offered to the families by more than 2,000 students and staff who gathered together as a community.

“Although seemingly unconnected to these dreadful acts, we are still in the university trying to process the information that the suspect in custody was a former student,” she said.

Nottingham North Labour MP Alex Norris said “we must all be there” for the families of the victims as he spoke on behalf of Nottingham’s other MPs, Nadia Whittome and Lilian Greenwood.

Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner Caroline Henry said: “There is no place for hate in the healing process.

“It’s important that we remain united and come back stronger from this tragedy as Nottingham together.”

During a short pause before the minute’s silence at 18:00 BST, the crowd were asked to talk to each other to emphasise Nottingham’s sense of community.

Heart-shaped balloons with the words “Choose Love” were held by one woman near the stage.

Earlier, Home Secretary Suella Braverman added a wreath to flowers laid outside the Council House.

She also met with police chiefs for an update on the investigation and visit emergency services personnel to thank them for their response to the attacks.

Writing in the Nottingham Post, she spoke of her “profound sorrow” at Tuesday’s attacks.

“As I pay my respects today, I am touched by the words of tribute from family and friends and join them to remember Barnaby, a talented student and respected sportsman, and Grace, an accomplished hockey player and promising medical student,” she wrote.

“Both with so much promise and who had already achieved so much in their young lives. And to Ian, a kind, dedicated and much-loved family man and pillar of the school community.”

Police were earlier granted more time to question the 31-year-old suspect.

They said he was a former student of the university but did not believe this to be behind the attack.

Nottinghamshire Police also confirmed it had referred part of the incident to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), as a marked police car followed the suspect’s van before it collided with two pedestrians.

Mr Webber and Ms O’Malley-Kumar were attacked with a knife in Ilkeston Road, shortly after 04:00.

After this a man matching the suspect’s description attempted to get into a supporting living complex in Mapperley Road, but was unable to gain entry.

Police believe that shortly afterwards, he attacked Mr Coates – who was found dead from knife injuries in Magdala Road – and stole his van, which was then used to hit pedestrians.

Officers have given more details of three other people injured in this part of the attacks.

A man was run over in the Milton Street area and left in a critical condition, but a Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust spokesman said he was now stable.

An attempt was then made to run over two other pedestrians in the Sherwood Street area. They are believed to have suffered minor injuries.

It was this part of the attacks that prompted the referral to the IOPC, police confirmed.

The IOPC confirmed the move and said: “We are assessing the referral to decide what further action may be required of the IOPC.”

The suspect was Tasered and arrested after leaving a van and approaching officers with a knife, police said.

The force said it was still working alongside counter-terrorism policing and keeping an “open mind” on the motives behind these attacks.

A statement added: “A team of dedicated detectives is continuing to question the suspect and building up a strong picture of what happened that morning.

“This has included CCTV gathering, forensics, eyewitness accounts and searching a number of properties in the city.”

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